By DJ Astrocreep
A first ever journey to Bradford sees me take in local powerhouses Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride in what is one hell of a local show, both for the first time outside of festivals. A journey through industrial estates and all manner of side roads made for an unorthodox route into the city – gotta love sat navs, eh? – before taking in the picturesque interior of St George’s Hall, one of Britain’s oldest concert halls at 170 years old! A night of growls and riffs is well and truly on the cards…
As support bands go, My Dying Bride have only been going 33 years, so clearly have some catching up to do on our headliners 35, but have amassed their own impressive back catalogue in the process. It’s quite refreshing to see most phones do not constantly go up throughout the show, too. They’re not on the bill by accident, being such an established act in their own right, with this class showing through throughout their set.
‘Like Gods Of The Sun’ is a particular highlight in this setting, where the sound balance is about delicacy emphasis as much as the heaviness of the tone, and the acoustics are perfect for letting us hear each aspect in its own right. ‘The Cry Of Mankind’ immediately after is completely mesmerizing and highly atmospheric, conveying such intense emotion that it almost seeps into your pores, something which is quite typical of the whole set, in fairness. Power, precision and barbarity tied up in a neat doomy package.
As one of the progenitors of the whole death-doom movement, Paradise Lost have garnered quite the reputation over their three and a half decades in business. It’s quickly apparent just why this is, as they sound absolutely immense in these quite stately surroundings, with the sound once more geared towards emphasising all aspects of their sound and not just the roaring riffs that ring out all around the room.
Rather unsurprisingly, we get the whole of the re-released ‘Icon’ album, in full, in order, which is quickly announced by Nick Holmes “so people don’t have to shout out for them”, showing their no nonsense, uncompromising style pretty much from the off. The music is exactly the same, sounding even larger than life as we quickly work our way through the first half of the album with nothing but the music and the acclaim between songs.
Just before ‘Weeping Words’, a random heckler starts shouting out other, as far unplayed, songs from ‘Coil’, which Holmes greets with the derisive “how do you know these things?” and similar, before admonishing him when he continues with “stop being so aggressive… you cunt”, which draws laughter from myself and many others around the room – rightfully so, with the hope the shouts from him calm down.
The band take a break after they finish the album, composing themselves for their four songs follow up to come, though the crowd chanting for their return seems quite strangely subdued. Eventually they do head back on stage and we get the best of the rest, including ‘Pity The Sadness’ and set closer ‘Ghosts’, which both draw loud shouts of appreciation, both before and after – a very fitting end to a loud and sumptuous night of the darker side of metal – even if the former drummer Holmes tries to call up for ‘No Hope In Sight’ has “already fucked off home”.
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